Croydon Conservatives accuse Labour of faking outrage
Croydon’s Conservative Group accuses the Labour opposition party of pursuing media sound bites instead of taking a genuine interest in Croydon.
The more shocking and untrue the comment, the greater the chance of Labour using it to provoke a hostile reaction from residents. It’s a cheap, irresponsible ploy – and it shows that Labour recognise they have no chance of winning the next election.
If they seriously thought they were in with a chance they could not afford to be so cavalier with their fake outrage. They called yesterday’s Extraordinary Council meeting, but did not even say what they wanted the Council to vote about.
Instead, the Labour Group listed a series of questions that could have been answered at the last Cabinet meeting – if they had bothered to ask the questions once they were no longer grandstanding in front of the press.
If there was a remote likelihood of them winning the council they could not ignore the accommodation issue. Had they taken part in the debate in Cabinet when they had the opportunity, they would know that developing a shared hub through the URV is the most cost-effective solution.
Cabinet member Steve O’Connell said: “Serious issues require serious attention from politicians elected to plan for the future and not just focus on the short term and hope everything else turns out ok. That was Labour’s policy with Croydon’s car parks and just look at the economic problems that short sighted decision has caused.”
“But we are not just talking about a building. The hub will be at the centre of a radical transformation in the way public services operate in Croydon. There’ll be greater reliance on technology and remote working. There will be unprecedented level of co-operation with partners as we embrace ‘total place’ area-based working practices putting the wider needs of local residents first and foremost.
“None of this can be done in Taberner House which is no longer fit for purpose. Our forward planning is proportionate to the way residents will rely on us for many years to come. If we don’t plan ahead we will be bounced with ever escalating maintenance and running costs – giving taxpayers zero value for money.”
Croydon’s Conservative administration says that building the hub through the URV is a sound, carefully reasoned and financially cautious solution that’s been fully audited and supported.
Taberner House is obsolete, expensive and inefficient. It’s gobbling up money just keeping it in use. It was designed back in the 1950s – a byegone age compared to modern technology and green needs. No amount of patching up can compensate for its age-related faults, whereas the new buildings will have many innovative features to make them ecologically friendly.
As the government’s new chief construction adviser, Paul Morrell has said, “buildings put up in the sixties and seventies should be torn down because it would be impossible to refurbish them to a sufficient standard laid down by green targets.”
Replacing Taberner House will enable the council and other local agencies to move into a future-proof, low cost building. More importantly, we will be able to vacate other equally inappropriate premises that can be sold to help pay for the new scheme.
In simple terms, competitive borrowing from the public works loans board – in line with encouragement given to public sector bodies – is much cheaper than John Laing borrowing from the banks. It can be looked on as a bridging loan, paying for construction with money up front pending income from the sale and development of redundant accommodation.
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